Service for Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012


Subject: God the Preserver of Man

 Hymn 383 
 Mary W. Hale*

 Whatever dims thy sense of truth
   Or stains thy purity,
 Though light as breath of summer air,
   O count it sin to thee.

 Preserve the tablet of thy thoughts
   From every blemish free,
 For our Redeemer's holy faith
   Its temple makes with thee.

 And pray of God, that grace be given
   To tread the narrow way:
 How dark soever it may seem,
   It leads to cloudless day.

The scriptural selection is from Proverbs.

Proverbs 4:1,2,5‑13,18 the,20‑23,25‑27 (to :)
Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.  For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. 

Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.  Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.  Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.  Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.  

She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.  Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.  I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.  When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.  Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life. 

the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. 

#My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.  Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.  For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.  #Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. 

Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.  Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.  Turn not to the right hand nor to the left:

Silent prayer, followed by the audible repetition of the Lord’s prayer, with its spiritual interpretation as given in the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy


Our Father which art in heaven,
Our Father-Mother God, all-harmonious,
Hallowed be Thy name.
Adorable One.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy kingdom is come; Thou art ever-present.
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Enable us to know – as in heaven, so on earth
God is omnipotent, supreme.
Give us this day our daily bread;
Give us grace for today; feed the famished affections;
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And Love is reflected in love;
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil;
And God leadeth us not into temptation, but delivereth us from sin, disease, and death.
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.
For God is infinite, all-power, all Life, Truth, Love, over all, and All.


 Hymn 154
 Frances A. Fox 

 In Thee, O Spirit true and tender,
   I find my life as God's own child;
 Within Thy light of glorious splendor
   I lose the earth‑clouds drear and wild.

 Within Thy love is safe abiding
   From every thought that giveth fear;
 Within Thy truth a perfect chiding,
   Should I forget that Thou art near.

 In Thee I have no pain or sorrow,
   No anxious thought, no load of care.
 Thou art the same today, tomorrow;
   Thy love and truth are everywhere.

Solo: “Powerful Guardian”               

Friends:
The Bible and the Christian Science textbook are our only preachers. We shall now read Scriptural texts, and their correlative passages from our denominational textbook; these comprise our sermon.

The canonical writings, together with the word of our textbook, corroborating and explaining the Bible texts in their spiritual import and application to all ages, past, present, and future, constitute a sermon undivorced from truth, uncontaminated and unfettered by human hypotheses, and divinely authorized.

The lesson-sermon from the Bible and the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, read by the First and Second Readers.

The content of the Lesson Sermon may be found in the Christian Science Quarterly. You may also read the Lesson-Sermon for this week online by clicking here.

 Hymn 293
 Frederic W. Root – Based on hymn by A. M. Toplady

 Rock of Ages, Truth divine,
 Be Thy strength forever mine;
 Let me rest secure on Thee,
 Safe above life's raging sea.
 Rock of Ages, Truth divine,
 Be Thy strength forever mine.

 Rock of Truth, our fortress strong,
 Thou our refuge from all wrong,
 When from mortal sense I flee,
 Let me hide myself in Thee.
 Rock of Ages, Truth divine,
 Be Thy strength forever mine.

 Christ, the Truth, foundation sure,
 On this rock we are secure;
 Peace is there our life to fill,
 Cure is there for every ill.
 Rock of Ages, Truth divine,
 Be Thy strength forever mine.

"The Scientific Statement of Being" (S&H p. 468} and the correlative scripture according to I John 3:1-3.

There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter. All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all. Spirit is immortal Truth; matter is mortal error. Spirit is the real and eternal; matter is the unreal and temporal. Spirit is God, and man is His image and likeness. Therefore man is not material; he is spiritual.

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p.468

1John.3
[1] Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
[2] Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
[3] And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

Benediction

II Timothy 4:18 the
the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

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